A Different Life Redone
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: Rewrite of my story 'A Different Life'. Michael grew up with his father, Jason and his adoptive mother Sam. But what happens when he learns Jason is not his father? Will he want to get to know Carly and AJ? And will he ever forgive Jason and Sam for lying to him?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own General Hospital or any of its characters.**

**A Different Life Redone**

**A/N: I wrote this story a few years back, but didn't like the way it was written, so I decided to rewrite it.**

**In this story, Jason never returned when he ran with Michael in 1999. **

Jason sat in the living room of the house he shared with his wife, Sam and three kids, Michael, Danny, and Emily. Technically, Michael was not his son, but in his heart he was. Michael had been with him since he was born. Carly, Michael's biological mother had asked him to say he was Michael's father. In time, it wasn't even a lie as far as he was concerned. Michael was his son.

Soon, Jason's wife, Sam McCall Morgan came into the room. He'd met her when he took Michael sailing for the first time. They'd gotten lost and eventually found her boat. She'd helped them find their way back and they'd hit it off well.

"Hey. What are you doing?" Sam asked

"Thinking about Michael," Jason said. He'd been doing a lot of thinking about Michael lately. His oldest son was seventeen going on eighteen. He was nearly a man. And he still didn't know that Jason wasn't his biological father.

Sam looked at him confused. "What about him? He's fine. He's reading to Emily and Danny," she said referring their two youngest children, Sophia Emily Morgan and Jason Morgan Jr.

"It's time, Sam," said Jason.

Sam didn't need to ask her husband what he was talking about. She knew what he meant. He was talking about the fact that Jason was not Michael's biological father. He knew she technically wasn't his mother, as she and Jason didn't meet until Michael was five, but he didn't know about Jason. "Are you sure you wanna do this now."

Jason stood up and walked over to the window. "We've put it off too long already. I always said I would tell him when he was old enough to understand, but I never did. It's time.

Sam sighed. She knew that her husband was right. Michael deserved to know the truth. She also knew that they couldn't keep putting it off. The longer they waited, the angrier Michael would be when he learned the truth. "I'll go get him.

When Sam left to get Michael, Jason sat back on the couch. He was scared. He'd never been more scared than he was about how Michael would react. He knew it would be bad. He just hoped that Michael would forgive him.

"Mom said you guys wanted to talk to me," said Michael as he entered the room with Sam. While Michael knew Sam wasn't really his mother, he thought of her as such. She had been in his life since he was little and he loved her very much.

Jason nodded. "Sit down."

Michael sat in an armchair near the couch, while Sam sat on the couch next to her husband.

Jason sighed. "Michael, you know I love you, right?"

Michael nodded. Now he was scared. It wasn't uncommon for his father to tell him he loved him, but the tone in which he said it now told him that something was wrong.

" I love you so much, just as much as your brother and sister, but I'm not your biological father," Jason said. He didn't know a better way to tell him. There was no way to make it easier or soften the blow. The best way to tell him was to just tell him.

"You're… I… What?" Michael asked in absolute shock. He wasn't expecting this one. He knew his mother wasn't really his mother, but he never questioned who his father was. Never once. It seemed that maybe he should've.

"Michael, I am so sorry I kept this from you for so long. I should've told you a long time ago," Jason said.

"I… This is for real?" Michael asked, still in shock. He knew his father wouldn't joke about something like this, but it was just so surreal. He couldn't believe this is happening. "So than who are my parents?"

Jason sighed. "Your biological mother is a woman named Carly Benson. She came to me before you were born. She was scared that your biological father would take you from her, so she asked me to say that I was your father. I agreed."

"But if she wanted you to help her keep me, why'd she leave," Michael asked. This was actually the first time he'd asked about his mother. He never felt compelled to before because he had Sam and that was enough for him. Now things were different. He wanted answers.

"It's not that simple," Jason said.

"Well, simplify it!" Michael said raising his voice.

"Honey, please calm down," Sam said.

Michael turned to his mother. "You knew about this, right?"

Sam nodded. "Your father told me not long after we got together."

Michael turned back to his father. "So tell me what happened."

"Your mother, Carly, she got scared a lot, and when she got scared, she did some crazy things. When your biological father found out the truth, she got more scared than ever before. We had planned to run with you so that we wouldn't lose you. I left first and your mother was supposed to join us."

"But that didn't happen," Michael said.

"No. A few weeks later, Sonny came to see me," Jason said.

"Sonny. That's your old business partner, right?" Michael asked. He'd heard the name 'Sonny' before, but he'd never met him or even heard much about him.

"Yeah. He told me that Carly had joined forces with your biological father to take you away from me," Jason said.

"What?" Michael asked confused. That made no sense. Why would this woman turn against her only ally.

"She accused your father of kidnapping you," Sam said with quite a bit of anger in her voice. She'd never met Carly Benson, but what she heard was enough for her not to like her.

"I don't understand. Why?" Michael asked.

"She was scared. I think she thought that if she joined AJ that she wouldn't lose you. I don't know for sure because I never got the chance to ask her. Sonny thought it was best that I not come back. I wrestled with the decision, but in the end, the chance of losing you was too big a risk," Jason explained.

"So my biological father's name is AJ. What was so bad about him that you and Carly thought that you had the right to take me from him?" Michael asked.

"AJ was my brother," Jason told his son.

"So, wait, I'm your nephew?" Michael asked surprised.

"Biologically speaking, yes, but you are and have always been my son to me

"You still haven't said why. Why did you do it?" Michael asked.

"At first it was because Carly asked me to. She was my friend and she was afraid of losing you. I also had some bag experience with the Quartermaines. I saw firsthand how they treated each other. Lying and manipulating people was there specialty. They tore each other apart. So, I understood why Carly wanted to keep you away," Jason said. That was then though. Over the years, he'd begun to feel guilty for his actions. He would never regret raising Michael, but he did realize that it hadn't really been his decision to decide that AJ shouldn't raise Michael. Realizing that didn't mean he was willing to give Michael up though.

Michael was on information overload. He wasn't sure how to handle all this. Carly seemed like a piece of work. She'd pit brother against brother. She'd asked his father , or uncle, to keep him away from his biological father and then when things looked bleak, she'd switched to the other side. And he didn't even know what to think about AJ. If his father was being truthful, AJ had planned to take him from his mother. And then there were his parents, who had lied to him his entire life. How in the hell was he supposed to deal with that. He never thought his dad would lie to him, yet that was exactly what he had done.

Michael stood up from his seat. "I need to get out of here."

Sam stood up and grabbed her son's arm as he tried to leave. 'Michael…"

Michael yanked his arm away. "No! Just… Just leave me alone," he said before storming out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

After Michael left the room, Jason and Sam just sat on the couch. Neither had spoken for about twenty minutes. Finally, Jason broke the silence. "I knew this might happen. I knew that when I finally told him the truth, he might hate me. I guess that's why I put it off for so long."

"Well, if he hates you, he hates me too," Sam said. She'd never forget the look in her son's eyes as he stormed out of the room. He had been so angry. She'd never seen him that angry before. He'd gotten mad at them before of course, what teenager hasn't? But this was different. This time had her wondering if he'd ever forgive her.

Jason shook his head. "No, I won't let that continue. This is not your fault. I'll make sure he knows that."

"I knew about it and didn't tell him. That's all he sees right now," Sam said sadly.

"You did what I asked you to do," Jason said.

"I hope you don't think I regret that choice. I knew then how much you loved Michael and how much he loved you. You were his father. And then soon afterwards, I fell in love with him too. I don't regret any part of our life together," Sam said.

"Still, you shouldn't have to suffer because of what I did," Jason said before standing up and going over to the mantle. Once there, he stared at an old picture of him, Sam, and Michael. Michael was about eight when it was taken. "I remember when I first learned that Carly had gone to AJ. I was going to go back with Michael to try to find out what she was planning. Sonny told me not to because I could lose Michael, but I was afraid he would hate me if I didn't give Carly a chance. But the more I thought about it, the more fear set in and I couldn't do it. I couldn't risk losing my son. And now here we are."

"Yeah, here we are. Michael's had a great life. He goes to school every day and makes great marks, he's a great older brother, and he's well on his way to becoming an honorable man. Whatever you do, Jason, don't ever doubt that you did right by Michael," Sam said.

Jason turned around. "But I kept him from his biological parents."

"Carly started that, not you. She's the one that gave Michael to you and had you fall in love with him. She's the one that thought she could switch sides and expect you to fall in line. And honestly, do you think that Michael would've grown up to be who he is now if he had been raised by Carly or AJ?" Sam asked. It wasn't that she thought it was okay to take kids from their parents if they weren't perfect. It was not. But when she learned the truth, she'd already seen how much Michael thrived with Jason and how happy he was. She'd also heard enough about Carly and AJ to believe Michael was better off with them. So, yeah, the choice Jason made might not be right, but in the end, she truly believed her son was better off.

"No," Jason said. Carly had been his best friend once upon a time, but he had no doubt that Michael would be different if raised by her. And he certainly would be different had he been raised by AJ. He did feel guilt over making a choice that was not his, but he didn't actually regret raising Michael. It was one of the best things he'd ever done.

"Michael is upset right now. We knew he would be. But we have to believe that he'll come to see that everything we did we did for him and that he'll forgive us," Sam said.

Jason immediately pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, Michael was in his bedroom on the computer. After calming down a little, he'd decided to see what he could learn about his birth parents online. He didn't know Carly's last name, but he remembered his father saying the name 'Quartermaine' when referring to his biological father's family. So he decided to type in 'Quartermaine.

A lot came up. The Quartermaines were apparently a very wealthy company, starting with Edward Quartermaine. Edward and his wife Lila had two children together, Tracy and Alan Quartermaine.

Michael decided to skip through the load of information about Edward Quartemaine and went right to his children to see if they would lead him to AJ. Tracy didn't seem to lead there. She had two sons, but neither seemed like they could be called AJ and his dad's name wasn't there either.

Alan, however, also had two sons. He had other children too, but it was the sons Michael was interested in. He had one named Alan Jr. and another named Jason. It was obvious that this was what Michael was looking for.

Michael clicked on the link for Alan Quartermaine Jr. He was immediately met with a man that looked a lot like him, and it turned out that he was called AJ. Yes, Michael had found exactly what he was looking for.

The first thing Michael saw was something about a paternity scandal in '99. Michael knew that had to be about him, so he clicked on it. He quickly learned about how three men had originally been candidates for his father. There was Tony Jones, AJ Quartermaine, and Jason Morgan, his dad. The dispute was put to rest around the time he was born and Jason was named his father, however, that changed when Michael was just over a year old. AJ had somehow got it into his head that he was his father and ordered a paternity test. Unfortunately for him Jason 'kidnapped' Michael before he could get the test.

Michael read about how his birth mother, Carly Benson, accused his dad of stealing him and making her fear for her life. That disgusted him. No matter what else, no one could ever accuse his father of hurting a woman. He would never, ever do that. That was nothing but a boldfaced lie!

Anyway, the article went on to say that because a test was never conducted, Jason was legally Michael's father and couldn't be charged with kidnapping.

Michael went back to the main page to see if he couldn't find anything on AJ. He scrolled down and clicked on a link to a story about a car crash in the mid 90's. He was immediately faced a picture of AJ and his father. He then started reading the article.

Michael slowly gaped as he read the article. According to this, AJ had caused a huge accident, sending his father into a coma. AJ had been drunk and Michael's dad had tried to stop him from driving. Instead, AJ crashed and Jason was thrown from the car and into a tree. It led to a massive head injury that left him with brain damage.

Michael was shocked to say the least. He never knew his father had been hurt like that. Then again, it seemed there was a lot he didn't know. It did explain at least partially why his father disliked AJ. It still didn't make Michael any less angry though. His parents should've told him the truth a long time ago. They should've given him the choice of knowing AJ and Carly.

Michael sighed and rubbed his temple. If this article and the last was anything to judge by, Carly and AJ weren't people he wanted to know, but reporters tended to exaggerate. There was probably more to these too people than what he was reading right now. He wasn't sure if it would be good or bad, but he needed to find out. He needed to meet Carly and AJ. He needed to decide for himself if they had any place in his life. So that was what he was going to do. He was going to go to Port Charles and meet his biological parents. And he was going to do that on his own.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Jason was in the dining room getting his children ready for breakfast. Four-year-old Emily was in her booster seat impatiently waiting for her breakfast and eighteen-month-old Danny was banging his spoon against his plate.

Jason rubbed his eyes. He was exhausted. He hadn't slept much the night before. Michael had not said a word to him or Sam since they told him the truth and Jason was worried that his son would never forgive him for what he did.

"Daddy, I wanna eat," Emily whined.

"We will soon, sweetheart. We just have to wait for Mommy and Michael," Jason told his daughter.

As if on cue, Sam came into the room at that moment holding a piece of paper in her hand. "Jason, I need to talk to you."

Jason immediately followed his wife to the doorway between the dining room and the kitchen. This way the children couldn't hear, but they could still keep an eye on them. "What's wrong?"

"Michael's gone," Sam said as she held the piece of paper out for him.

"What?" Jason asked as he took it from him.

"I went to wake him up, but he wasn't there. I found that on his desk," Sam said frantically.

Jason immediately began reading the note.

_Dear Mom and Dad,_

_I'll be long gone by the time you get this. I'm going to meet my biological parents. The things you told me and the things I read online just aren't enough for me. I have to find out for myself and I have to do it alone. If you love me, you'll respect that and you won't come after me. I'll call when I'm ready._

_Michael_

Jason sighed after finishing the letter. He never thought his son would do something like this. He knew it was likely that Michael would want to meet Carly and AJ, but he thought Michael would come to them and tell them. That was how he would handle situations in the past. Then again, Michael had never been so angry with them in the past.

"We have to go after him," Sam said. She knew her son had asked them not to go after him, but how could they not. They were his parents. They should at least be there to support him should things go bad.

Jason shook his head. "No. We can't do that. The only thing he's asked of us is that we let him handle this on his own."

"Jason, we have to go! He's our son! We need to be there to help him," Sam said.

"Sam, I promised myself when I took Michael that I would explain everything to him one day and let him decide what he wanted to do about it. I can't break that promise. We have to let him handle this his own way," Jason said. He hated the idea of Michael being alone to meet Carly and the Quartermaines, but if that was how Michael wanted, he would respect that.

"What if something happens? What if they're not what he expects and he needs us?" Sam asked.

"Then we'll be here for him to call or come back to if he needs us. And I'll call Sonny and have him keep an eye on him," Jason said. He would let his son handle things himself, but if anything happened, he wanted someone he trusted to be there to help him.

Sam sighed. She didn't like it, not one bit, but she knew her husband was right. Michael was practically an adult now. He could make his own decisions. "What do we tell the kids? They're going to start asking for him soon."

"We'll tell them that Michael went away for a little while and that he'll be home soon," Jason said.

"Will he?" Sam asked. She was terrified that her son would decide not to come home. It would break her heart if that happened.

Jason pulled his wife into his arms and held her tightly. "He'll come home, Sam. He will."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Sonny Corinthos was in his living room putting his shoes on. He was getting ready to take his twelve-year-old son, Morgan to school. He had a school conference this morning with his teachers. Carly would be there as well.

"Come on, Dad, we're gonna be late!" Morgan was calling from the entrance hall.

Just then the phone rang.

"I'll be right there, buddy!" Sonny yelled to his son before going to answer the phone. "This is Sonny."

"_Hey, Sonny, it's Jason."_

To say Sonny was shocked would be an understatement. He hadn't heard from Jason in sixteen years. A part of him had been glad for that because he never felt like he had to choose between Carly and Jason. He couldn't choose when one of them was nowhere to be seen. Still, he was happy to hear from him now. He'd missed him. "Damn, Jason! It's been a long time. How are you?"

"_I'm good for the most part. I'm sorry I didn't keep in touch. I just thought it would be better to cut off all ties from Port Charles," _Jason said.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Sonny said. Again, he was thinking about how it would've affected things with Carly, as they were married for many years.

"_So listen, I need your help,"_ Jason said.

"Anything, man. Just ask," Sonny said immediately.

"_I told Michael the truth last night. He left for Port Charles without telling us. We think he left in the middle of the night," _Jason said.

"Okay, so you want me to fly you out?" Sonny asked. He hoped that was all he wanted. He hoped his friend wouldn't ask to get Michael back to Jason without letting Carly see him.

"_No. I'm not gonna come right now. Michael has asked me not to and I'm going to respect that. What I want is for you to look after him while he's there. Don't approach him though. Like I said, I want to let him do this himself," _Jason said.

"You just want someone around in case something happens," Sonny guessed. That was what he would want if it was Morgan or Kristina_._

"_Yeah. I trust that won't be a problem."_

"No, of course not. There is another issue though. Carly," Sonny said. He wasn't sure what to do about Carly. For the first time in sixteen years, he had information about Carly's son. He felt torn in what to do about it.

"_Yeah, I know Carly and AJ could make this hard for Michael, but…"_

"No, that's not what I meant. Jason, a lot has changed since you left. I don't feel right about keeping this from Carly," Sonny said.

"_Things have changed so much that you actually care about keeping something from Carly?" _Jason asked surprised.

"Yeah."

Jason sighed on the other end of the phone. _"Look, Sonny, if Carly finds out Michael is in Port Charles, she's going to try to find him. She's going to bombard him and I Michael won't handle that well._

Sonny knew Jason was right about that. Carly would do that. She wouldn't do it to hurt Michael. That was just how she was. And Jason had raised Michael. He knew the boy better than anyone. He knew what the kid could handle and what he couldn't. Besides, Carly would learn the truth soon enough. "Okay, I won't say anything. Carly will learn the truth at Michael's pace."

"_Thank you. I'll talk to you soon."_

"Looking forward to it. Bye," Sonny said before hanging up. He then took a deep breath. Things were about to get very complicated very fast.


End file.
